Sub-surface Compound Microlens Refractive Index Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing techniques for fabricating sub-surface microlenses face challenges such as limited refractive index contrast and lack of precise refractive index control, leading to poor lens performance and significant aberrations.
Innovation Solution
The development of sub-surface compound microlenses, which consist of a glass core with a lens stack embedded below its surfaces, featuring regions of uniform refractive indices different from the glass core, allowing for improved light manipulation and reduced susceptibility to environmental variations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional sub-surface microlens fabrication techniques are used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but lens performance deteriorates due to limited refractive index contrast and lack of precise refractive index control
Solution Approach 1:
The microlens is divided into multiple discrete regions (first region, second region, third region) with different refractive indices arranged in a stack configuration. This segmentation allows precise control of light propagation by creating distinct optical zones, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing precision and device complexity through structured modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the microlens stack are assigned different refractive indices tailored to specific functional requirements. The first region has a refractive index optimized for one optical function while the second and third regions have refractive indices optimized for other functions, enabling precise local control of light manipulation throughout the lens structure.
2Manufacturing precision
If simple single-region microlens structures are used, then device complexity is reduced, but lens performance deteriorates due to significant optical aberrations
Solution Approach 1:
The microlens is divided into multiple discrete regions (first region, second region, third region) with different refractive indices arranged in a stack configuration. This segmentation allows precise control of light propagation by creating distinct optical zones, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing precision and device complexity through structured modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The microlens employs a composite structure combining multiple materials or regions with different refractive indices in a stacked arrangement. This composite design enables sophisticated light manipulation and aberration correction that cannot be achieved with homogeneous single-material lenses, balancing optical performance with structured complexity.
3Reliability
If surface-level microlenses are used, then fabrication ease is maintained, but reliability deteriorates due to susceptibility to environmental variations
Solution Approach 1:
The microlens stack is embedded within a glass core, creating a nested structure where the multi-region lens system is housed inside the protective glass matrix. This nesting provides environmental stability and protection against external variations while maintaining the complex internal regional structure needed for precise optical control.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from conventional surface-level microlenses to a sub-surface three-dimensional stack structure embedded within the glass core. This dimensional relocation to sub-surface positioning enhances environmental stability and reliability by isolating the optical elements from surface-level environmental variations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables the creation of stronger and higher-performance sub-surface microlens arrays, achieving improved accuracy, efficiency, and flexibility in optical device fabrication, such as micro-collimators and beam shapers.
Implementation Method 1
a lens stack embedded in the glass core, the stack comprising a plurality of regions stacked in a direction of light propagation through the lens stack during operation, where an individual region of the plurality of regions is a region of a substantially uniform refractive index that is different from a refractive index of the glass core
Data Source
AI summary
Photonic devices, packages, and systems with sub-surface compound microlenses are disclosed. An example microlens structure includes a glass core and a microlens stack embedded in the glass core, the stack comprising a plurality of regions stacked a direction of propagation of light that is to be manipulated by the microlens structure, wherein each region is a region of a substantially uniform refractive index that is different from the refractive index of the glass core. Such a stack may be referred to as a “sub-surface compound microlens,” where the term “sub-surface” is indicative of the fact that the stack may be below all surfaces of the glass core (i.e., is embedded in the glass core) and the term “compound” is indicative of the fact that the stack is a compound arrangement of multiple regions (e.g., each region is an individual microlens).